Zambezi primed for title defence

The Zambezi region has never been short on talent, but inspiration may have been low, says regional team head coach Linnox Kanyehu.

The region struck an equilibrium last year, following an unexpected but magical run to The Namibian Newspaper Cup title at Oshakati.

It was not only their first title triumph since the tournament’s inception in 2000, but also the first time Zambezi, made it out of the group stage.

Everything just clicked, said Kanyehu, who has had a selection headache for this year’s upcoming tournament, which is supported by Standard Bank Namibia.

“That victory has given us hope and belief. More girls and boys in the region are inspired to play now.

The people are very positive and now have expectations of the team when we go to the newspaper cup,” said Kanyehu, who added that interest in the marquee national youth competition has shot up in Zambezi this year.

“This time around, there’s been a lot of support for the team materially and in terms of motivation.

So, we’re positive about our chances and have prepared very well to defend the title,” he said.

“The Namibian Newspaper Cup is the World Cup of youth football in Namibia.

It is a competition that everyone wants to be involved in and win.

No competition comes with this hype in Namibia. There’s no dull moment in this tournament.” Kanyehu knows his side will be under intense scrutiny to prove that last year’s unbeaten run to honours was no fluke.

The Zambezi head coach is mindful that to sustain success, they need to strike a balance between basking in their recent past and moving into the future competitively.

“What we have told the boys is that we should not get carried away.

We have to respect the competition and our rivals.

That is what we did last time and it helped us to victory,” Kanyehu noted.

“Before we won, we were not having much pressure, now it’s natural that expectations have changed and so there will be pressure to perform.

We are going to enjoy and do our best.

We still consider ourselves underdogs.” The mentor believes his current squad is technically better than last year’s winners.
Kanyehu has retained 12 players from that triumphant campaign.

“When we did our selection, we did so with an eye beyond this year’s competition.

So, the average age has come down,” he said. “Last year, the squad was strong and resilient, but this year we have worked very hard on the technical part of our game. So, I think this year we are slightly better than before.”

That quality will be put to the test early on as Zambezi begin their title defence with matches against host Otjozondjupa, record winners Khomas and 2019 champions

//Kharas in Group B.

“The group is one of the toughest, so it means we will have have lots of cup finals,” Kanyehu noted.

“We believe in our abilities. We want to be arrogant with what we have in our team.

The pressure should challenge us.

We need to be confident, cautious and resilient, because we are playing against very strong teams,” he said.

“We’re not going to pretend that the other teams are better resourced and exposed than our boys.

That’s why they have won the competition so many times between them. “We’re going to respect them, but at the same time showcase our ability. The host always has a 12th man.

We will try to control the match and frustrate them, then the pressure will be more on their side.

Further inspiration comes from the success story of Brave Warriors defender Ryan Nyambe, who plays for Wigan Athletic in the English Championship.

Nyambe is not a newspaper cup alumnus but his emergence has made others dream about reaching his status as a professional footballer.

“The boys look up to him. He’s down to earth, humble and generous. Talent is everywhere in this country, we just need to invest in identifying it. If you can dream and get organised, you can make it,” Kanyehu said.

“We hope that in the next two years we can have two or three players in the senior national team and a premier league club from Zambezi.”